1. Field of the Art
The present disclosure relates to automated sample processing systems, and in particular to rack and sample handling systems that may provide greater flexibility and utility in automated processing systems.
2. Description of Related Art
It is well-known that physicians and other care-givers often take biological samples from patients, and place those samples in a sample container, such as a test tube or a vial. Given the cost, inconvenience and special skills necessary to actually test the sample, caregivers often send samples to an on-site or off-site laboratory (“lab”) that will process and test the sample, then return the test results to the caregiver. To facilitate the testing process, the caregivers often use uniform sample containers for each type of test. For example, blood samples, urine samples, and tissue or cytology/molecular samples each may be stored in a unique type of container. The need to use of different containers for different kinds of sample may be dictated by various factors, such as sample volume, but in any event it has the added benefit that it is easier to tell different sample types apart, and therefore is more difficult to accidentally test one kind of sample in a process intended for another type of sample.
In some cases, a testing lab may require caregivers to use particular sample containers so that the lab does not have to accommodate multiple container types in its handling and testing equipment. This is particularly true where the lab relies on automated systems to help process the samples.
Furthermore, a medical company that develops a unique test protocol may provide caregivers with unique containers to hold test samples intended to be tested using that protocol. Such containers may contain a liquid medium in which the sample is stored. Examples of such protocols include the “Hybrid Capture 2” and “Next Generation Hybrid Capture® High Risk” assays developed by QIAGEN Gaithersburg, Inc. of Gaithersburg, Md. (“Qiagen”). These protocols may accommodate specimens in a medium, such as the PreservCyt® (“PC”) medium (also from Qiagen). A company providing multiple test protocols may provide unique containers for each protocol to ensure that samples intended for each protocol can be distinguished from one another and the proper test is performed on each sample. This is particularly true where the protocols are used to test for the same condition, as protocols may require substantially different processing steps even though they both detect the same condition.
Given the common use of different containers for different sample types and testing protocols, companies producing testing equipment (which may or may not be the companies producing the protocols and/or containers) typically configure the equipment to hold and process samples contained in the particular container used to hold the sample. This equipment can range from simple sample racks used to hold samples during manual testing, to racks, grippers and other devices used in automated sample-processing systems. In many cases, an automated sample processing machine may be constructed such that it handles only one kind of biological sample container, which helps to ensure that the equipment can not be used to perform a test on the wrong kind of sample.